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Thursday, March 7, 2013

Silk Gazar Fabric

Yesterday was a major fabric shopping trip for me, which is its own special kind of high (no substances required!). I'm working on the next round of Butterick patterns right now, and finally pulled the trigger on some amazing fabrics after a couple swatching trips and much agonizing.

One of the designs is very tailored and structured, and I want it to appear almost sculptural. At Mood, I was assisted by the adorable Kooan, who made a brief appearance on Project Runway Season 10 before opting to voluntarily leave the show. Remember him?

Anyway, he now works at Mood and is super helpful. I showed him my sketch to get some fabric suggestions, and was surprised when he recommended a double layer of heavy silk organza. He pulled out some examples, and one (photographed above) was especially unique: extremely bouncy but stiff, light as a feather, and only the tiniest bit sheer. It seemed way stiffer and opaque than any organza I've seen, including satin-faced organza (which can tend to be less sheer than regular organza).

I later found out that this fabric is actually silk gazar, which is one of those rare birds of the fabric world. (You may recall that Kate Middleton's wedding gown was made of silk gazar, so it briefly became a household term.)

Mood only had this particular fabric in the red color here.

While it's a lovely color, it's not what I had in mind for this design. But the drape of it was absolutely perfect. So I decided to pick up a small amount (1.5 yards) and use it to underline the body of the garment, which will be made in a silk/cotton faille. The silk gazar was $35 a yard, twice as much as the fashion fabric--but sometimes the understructure is everything, right? I also hate to hide this beautiful fabric, but we must make sacrifices for fashion!

I did a quick drape with the gazar so you could see its qualities more clearly.

I love how it almost glows from within. And look how the folds on the skirt stand out! It really is a spectacular fabric.

Silk gazaar is a heavier sheer silk fabric with a smooth texture and crisp, matte finish. Essentially a four ply form of silk organza, silk gazaar was developed by the designer Balenciaga in the 1960s. Like organza, the fabric is perfect for lining as well as for sleeves, overlays or a back piece on evening wear or special occasion garments.

Love their "grape" color. I cannot speak to the qualities of this particular fabric, but I have been happy with ordering from this website in the past. I will be ordering a swatch of this fabric, so I'll keep you updated on that. It's not cheap (about $50 a yard) but all colors are always in stock and ready to ship or swatch.

You'll also see printed gazars, which are even rarer than the solids. Gorgeous Fabrics currently has this lovely black and white floral.

B&J carries some Italian floral gazars that are so beautiful they make my heart hurt. Incidentally, the price tag makes my eyes bleed.

I never noticed before how structural Kate Middleton's gown was before you mentioned this fabric! Going back to look at it again, it might be one of those glorious garments that looks identical with a body inside it as without, standing up on its own. I've never sewn with gazar, but I think your new butterick dress with the shelf bust might be fabulous in this fabric for a fancy affair.

I haven't sewn with silk gazaar but I'm currently sewing a red dress with a silk taffeta the exact same color as your fabric. Your post came just in time because even though taffeta and gazaar are not exactly the same, I'm sure there are tips and tricks that apply to both fabrics. The drape of the gazaar is beautiful though and I love your description - glowing.

No surprise the fabric is amazing in person if it was invented by Balenciaga. And holy hell, those florals at B&J are like friggin Degas paintings! Thanks for sharing, I love learning about new fabrics!

I just want to add that I've sewn with many fabrics and used many techniques that I still am not sure how to pronounce. I once made a fool of myself once pronouncing jabot with the "t" for an entire conversation only to be corrected about 5 uses later. Oopsie! Looks good, feels good, it's all good.

Have you thought about a silk/wool mikado? Take a look at the Mood Sewciety blog post about draping: http://www.moodfabrics.com/blog/?p=2317. There's a blue jacket that was made with mikado and it just is so beautiful and sculptural... Don't know if it's too heavy for your garment.

I've never sewn personally with gaar, BUT--I think I recognize that red! A classmate of mine (in fashion school) used that fabric for the outer, pleated layer of a grecian gown. I think a very apt word you never used is "bouncy"--and although it actually seems like the sort of thing you want to sculpt rather than heat set lines into, it does pleat beautifully and even can flow around the body.

I got some once (that was billed as silk organza!) It is terrible for what I do (I design for dolls so it was too stiff for the small scale) but I could see how it would be excellent in full sized applications. k.

Good question! It's a matter of having options, I think. I'm going to test it in both hair canvas and gazar and see which produces the best option for my sample. For the pattern, there should ideally be at least two interlining options, and it's always up to each individual sewist to choose the best for her fashion fabric. Another thought is that you could replicate the gazar's effect by using two layers of stiff organza as an underlining.

Exhibit A from B&J might be the most beautiful fabric I've ever seen... I've never heard of this fabric, but I really like the soft yet structured drapes. I hope you can show us the finished product someday :)

In love with gazar but it's a tricky one to sew with. My wedding dress was made with it, rows and rows of vertically inset ruffles in a cream colored gazar over a pink lining. If you haven't played with it before be sure to try some ruffles & it can be magical as a fashion fabric not just as interlining.

Always great to learn something new! I had never heard of this fabric. Wonder if it would be work as a shaping underlayer? I remember you looking into that almost two years ago, adding netting for an almost shapewear-effect base to a dress, then a lining, then the fashion fabric. I later saw a dress like that on an exhibition on Swedish Royal garments from the 20th century. It was unzipped to show the different layers.

Maybe this could be used instead of netting? Oh, and for fellow EU-citizens who pay outragous postage and customs on anything bought overseas; MacCulloch & Wallis in London carry Silk gazar in their webshop (look under Dupion, Taffetas and Stiff Silks).

I haven't sewn with silk gazaar myself, but I worked along a classmate who made incredibly gorgeous things with it. The drape and the bounce really is fabulous. *However* - I do remember that her pieces sort of softly settled (a bit of deflation if you will?), and though I'm not sure it it was just wear, or steaming and ironing it, I think it's good to know that it won't hold that perky shape forever and ever.

I have seen gazaar used as a flat lining in several ways. Mostly, it needs to have the cut edges stabilized, as those can tend to unravel. One method is to bind the cut edges with a Hong Kong finish after sewing the gazaar to the fashion fabric, but before assembling the garment, that way you can press the seams open. I have also seen the HK finish applied after assembly to both seam allowances together, if that seam allowance will be pressed in one direction. And then there is the usual pinked edge cut after sewing the gazaar to the fashion fabric, which is good for seams that are to be pressed open and you don't want the added weight of a HK finish.For the home sewing consumer, they could sub in netting, tulle, organdy etc. or even a lightweight fusible tricot, depending on the desired results.

I find that choosing the correct fabric is one of the hardest things about sewing garments. Making that decision is such a painful one and it stalls so many of my sewing projects. Even with the suggested fabrics that are shown on the back of a pattern package, I still even struggle. Gertie, do you have any suggestions as to how one can gain fabric choosing confidence? When I go into Britex for example, I do believe the sales people confuse me more, and they totally intimidate me… ugh-

My friend and I just made the trip from Copenhagen, Denmark to New York for at vacation. We both like sewing and knitting and so on, so the Garment District of course was a big thing on our must-see-list, with Mood at the very top. When I was researching where to go in the Garment District, I came across your blog, and when we went into Mood, I thought "How fun would it be, if Gertie was there?". And there you were. Pink hair and everything. I really wanted to say hi, but I was actually a little starstruck... So I'm just going to write you here in stead: I really like your blog, and your attitude towards fashion and body images. Thank you :-)

Yes I have, it's the most beautiful fabric I've come across. I prefer the twill-double-organza texture instead of the more open-weave texture. Beware of using it, once you have a gazar dress you will be hooked to come back to the material again and again!

The technical stuff: I used Hong Kong finish on seam allowances of the single-layered skirt section, faced the top edges and lined the rest of the bodice. Another thing I noticed is, it did not fray much. I wish I had a fagotting machine available to finish the hem - my second preference would be to leave the edges row, my third would be to sew facing onto it (the hem was curved).

I had it in blue, made it into this uber-beautiful floor-length bridesmaid dress - I was the only bridesmaid so I deserve my rag trade cake :) Many guests complimented and two of them ordered a total of three dresses and a top, all wanted their orders made up in gazar. Phenomenal.

This is my first post here and wanted to comment on this wonderful article! Back in the 80s, I had purchased a gorgeous silk satin damask printed organza on 40th street to make outfits for a boutique I was doing some designs for. I had a couple of yards left over and now over 20 years later, I am using some of it as billowy side-skirt panels on a 20s repro dress I am making for one of my Etsy shops. I'm now wondering if I have an organza or a gazar as it is slightly heavier than the lighter-weight organzas, but it is not as heavy as what you describe for the gazar. I put a lining of possible silk organza that I had, and added some horsehair webbing in the hem to give the panels the "lift" they need to stand out a bit.

So I am sitting here reading about B&Js prices. LOL I am in NC and was fussing over the 30.00 a yard bright pumpkin/coral orange silk I bought for under a beautiful floral chiffon.... I was looking at B&J and found the perfect fabric....for 80.00 a yard. My husband just rolled in his grave (and hes still very much alive) lol... I almost bought 3 yards, but I have been on a fabric spending spree (for the last well, for years but especially the last few weeks) so I decided I would wait for the right time to lay that one on him... lol